Built

January 22nd, 2016

My alarm clock buzzes softly, waking me from my sleep. I groan a little as I hear a quiet meow from below me. I open my eyes and sleepily smile at the source. She immediately begins purring.
"Hey, Sweetheart," I say quietly. I pet her on the head and sit up. I stretch my arms over my head as her brother walks in the room and she jumps up next to me. "Good morning, Claude." I say to the other cat now standing at my bedside. I finally toss the covers off and walk across the room to stop the obnoxious beeping.
I walk into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee, then walk back into my bathroom. I put on some music and quickly take a shower. I dry off and put my hair in a messy bun to keep it out of the way. I hang up my towel and grab some clothes from my dresser then walk back into my bathroom.
"What do you want?" I ask the pair of cats, who sat together on the counter staring at me. Claude blinks and Sweetheart meows at me. I chuckle as I pull the dark red blouse over my head and pull my black dress pants up. I fasten the button, then walk to the kitchen and pour some coffee. I return to bathroom and take down my hair, then proceed to blow dry it. After it's done, I pull it into a neat bun and slick down the flyaways with a little hairspray. I start to do my makeup, taking sips of coffee between the different products. When it's all done the alarm on my phone goes off, telling me to leave. I silence it, put on my heels and my blazer, grab my purse, and pour some more coffee in a portable cup then head out the door.

After a fifteen minute walk (two minutes quicker than normal) and an awkward elevator ride, I arrive at my office. I walk in, go straight to my space, set my purse on my desk, and sit down. I sigh and look across my desk to the woman sitting at the desk facing mine. She smiles and I smile back.
"Good morning, Jessie," I say.
"Good morning, Dakota," she responds. "How are you?"
"The usual," I tell her. "Fueled only by coffee and the invisible hand." She laughs. "What about you?"
"I'm good," she says. "Tris is learning how to walk, and that's pretty exciting."
"Aw, yay," I say smiling as I open my laptop and begin my work. "That's so cute. I'm so happy for her."
"Yeah," she says, her smile fading as she realizes that my social skills are starting to turn off. "I am too..." She clears her throat, then opens her own laptop. The rest of the day continues in awkward silence like that, and I just continue to edit pieces like a machine.

I remember the lights. I remember the blanket wrapped so tightly around me as I tried to shelter myself from the cold. I remember the sounds. Metal wheels on the ground, their muffled voices. I remember that night. I can hear someone faintly calling my last name, but if it's my last name, they're not important.
"Dakota,"
"What?" Finally the trance is broken. The computer screen I've been staring at starts to come back into focus. I can see the words as individuals, not a black and white mob.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," I answer, probably too quickly. I never look away from the screen.
"Are you sure?" I don't answer. I just start tapping on the keys again like a machine, fixing mistakes other people have made.